Field
This disclosure relates to a sports skills training apparatus adapted to be used in sports-related activities. More specifically, the disclosure is directed to a customizable sports skill training apparatus that is configured to be collapsible to allow for ease of portability, transport and assembly.
Description of the Related Art
Various sports such as soccer, baseball, or volleyball involve hitting or throwing projectiles such as soccer balls, baseballs or volleyballs toward a desired direction in a field. A number of sports games are conducted on a playing field and involve a player hitting or throwing a game ball away from an opponent to be successful. For practice purposes, it is desirable to capture the ball before it travels a large distance or strikes objects or people, or provide a net or obstacle that the game ball must travel over to assist players in improving their skills in striking the game ball over the net or obstacle. Existing capturing structures include a net attached to the perimeter of a capturing frame and a rigid support frame attached to the capturing frame. The support frame is attached to the capturing frame and provides a base allowing the capturing structure to be disposed on the ground. Other existing capturing structures can be integrated into a playing surface, for example volleyball nets. Existing volleyball nets can include opposing posts and a net hung between the two posts, where players train in hitting balls over the net within a playing surface.
A disadvantage of such structures is that they cannot be easily collapsed and efficiently stored. This is because both the support frame and the capturing frame must be properly folded and placed in a container. Further use of a capturing frame and a supporting frame makes such structures more expensive to manufacture and harder to carry due to increased weight.
There are portable ball net structures available, and they tend to have members that are formed of a single continuous piece or formed from numerous smaller pieces. A disadvantage of net structures formed of a single continuous piece is that they cannot be easily collapsed and efficiently stored due in part to its size. For example, a portable soccer goal can be formed of a single continuous frame wherein wheels are attached to a base to allow the soccer goal to be transported or wheeled out to a desired location. Although portable, transporting or positioning the soccer goal can be cumbersome, especially if the soccer goal is a regulation sized goal.
Portable goals formed of numerous pieces are more likely to be collapsible and easy transport, but have the distinct disadvantage of being difficult and slow to set up, and not made of robust materials. For instance, loose fasteners may require tools for driving or tightening, and may also become lost in transit or storage or during assembly of the goal on the playing surface. Additionally, collapsible goals or nets may have components that are attached using lockable hinges. The hinges on such goals or nets typically require a locking device to hold the frame of the goal or net in a stable and locked position. These locking devices can malfunction or break due to repeated strikes from a ball, bat, kicks from users while using the net, and the like. As such, the locking device would be inoperable and would not be able to lock the components at the hinge, such that the hinge would be ineffective at holding the support frame of the goal; thereby rendering the goal inoperable. Some volleyball net structures require volleyball posts that are inserted into an opening in the ground of playing surface, such that the posts can be removed. However, conventional volleyball posts can be heavy and difficult to easily transport. Furthermore, the opening in the ground that receives the volleyball post is typically configured to only receive a certain sized post. Lastly, any damage to the opening in the ground could prevent the post from being received and not allow for the volleyball net to be assembled.
The above frame structures are typically configured for a single configuration and net, such that the frame is fixed and cannot be configured into a different arrangement for a different net and/or a different sports-related activity. For example, the portable soccer goal formed of a single continuous frame cannot be modified into a differently configured frame for a different net because the single continuous frame is permanently fixed and only designed to be used with a soccer goal net. In addition, frames formed of multiple pieces can only be assembled in the designed single configuration and is not customizable. Also, volleyball posts that are inserted into an opening in the ground or playing surface are only designed to be used with volleyball nets. The spacing of the holes in the ground restricts the type of net that can be used with the volleyball posts, and cannot be customized or rearranged to use with a different net.
The disclosure is a sports skills training apparatus that is portable, collapsible, and able to be configured into different arrangements for different nets and/or different sports-related activities. For example, the sports skills training apparatus can be configured to receive nets of different sizes and/or configurations that are designed for different sports and/or different sports-related activities. The sports skills training apparatus can also be configured to alter its dimensions to be used for different sports-related activities and/or to receive different nets. The disclosure addresses these needs and provides further related advantages.